Quick Question About HW

[Pembroke_Corgi]

My vet won't give me the meds without a test, they require it once a year.

Same here. Unless they have been on preventative all year, I think they are supposed to get tested once a year so the vet can dispense the hw preventative.

[lv4dogs]

I was wondering if anyone had a link to the website that has a map of the USA. It states what areas/states are more common for heartworm.
I am doing a study on it for a presentation for a local shelter and can not find the site. I know it's out there somewhere, I've seen it before.

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

I was wondering if anyone had a link to the website that has a map of the USA. It states what areas/states are more common for heartworm.
I am doing a study on it for a presentation for a local shelter and can not find the site. I know it's out there somewhere, I've seen it before.

This is all I could find...

Heartworm Locations

[kufan]

We test every year for safety and keep them on preventative all year round!

[lv4dogs]

This is all I could find...

Heartworm Locations

Well you're doing better than I am, at least you found something. lol It's still not what I am looking for, the one I have seen before is more detailed than that. You can zoom in & out and it also states the "known" possitive cases of heartworm for each area as well.

[My Peanuts]

Around here if a dog is on year round Heart Guard then they test every 2 years. My dogs are only on Heart Guard from May-December (no mosquitoes in Chicago in the freezing cold) so we test every year.

The test is cheap. At my vet it’s $26 I believe. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Jimmy had heart worm when we got him. The treatment is terrible and makes them VERY sick.

[wolfsoul]

Around here, no one tests for heartworm. The dog is either on a preventative or it's not.

[IRescue452]

I would love to find a place where you can just buy the preventative all year round. As far as I know about laws, dog medicine doesn't need a prescription here, so why do only vets carry this stuff?!! Its a freakin' monopoly so the vets can get money, but there is no legal reason that only vets can sell it. If your friends dogs has heartworms then I think you should test.

[pnance]

I was wondering if anyone had a link to the website that has a map of the USA. It states what areas/states are more common for heartworm.
I am doing a study on it for a presentation for a local shelter and can not find the site. I know it's out there somewhere, I've seen it before.

Don't know if this will help but I saw this

http://www.heartwormsociety.org/incidencemapnew.htm

Heartworm wasn't big in CA for years, so most people did't test or have their dogs on prevention. It's unfortunately becoming much more common, so we're now having to include that in normal checkups like a lot of other states, but to be honest most don't even think about it hear.

[binka_nugget]

I haven't tested my dogs. They haven't had any preventatives this year either. I think I may test them (just to be 100% sure) as soon as I save up some extra money. HW isn't a huge concern here though. I heard from a holistic vet that there are only 2-3 reported cases in the Okanagan alone. A dog is more likely to react badly to HW preventative than get HW (in Vancouver).

[K9karen]

My vet tests every year. I buy the preventative in a 6 month at a time supply because of the expense. I think if your vet writes a script, you can send it to "Drs Foster & Smith" (the catalogue people) and it's cheaper. Not sure about "PetMeds", the company you can call (toll free) because you must need a script to send to them.

[cyber-sibes]

I found this earlier:http://www.dogsandticks.com/maps/index.html

Thanks, it's a little more general than the one i remember, but at least it gives you an idea. Fortunately ticks are not too common around us now, but we used to live in a highly infested area along the Mississippi river - very high rates of HW there, too.

[lv4dogs]

Don't know if this will help but I saw this

http://www.heartwormsociety.org/incidencemapnew.htm

Heartworm wasn't big in CA for years, so most people did't test or have their dogs on prevention. It's unfortunately becoming much more common, so we're now having to include that in normal checkups like a lot of other states, but to be honest most don't even think about it hear.

Well it's still not the same one I've seen before (but it was a couple/few years ago, maybe it doesn't even exist anymore???) but it's better than the other ones I can find. Thanks a bunch!!
It is very similar to the one I'm looking for but it's not as defined. The one I am looking for has all that info but it also displays more detail about how many cases are found in different sections of each state, not just the whole state in general.

[Alysser]

Sassy is on Heart Guard year-round and is tested every other year.

Can dogs get HW if the go on grass, or is that only fleas and ticks?

[lv4dogs]

Can dogs get HW if the go on grass, or is that only fleas and ticks?

Heartworm is transmitted through mosquites, so if she goes outside (doesn't matter if she is on grass, concrete, pebbles, etc...) she is at risk.